The Hollywood movie hunk (and now TV star in HBO's "True Detective") was born Colin James Farrell in Dublin, Ireland on March 31,1976.

As
a youth, he planned to follow in the footsteps of his famous father,
footballer Eamon Farrell, but the admitted "wild lad"
was barely out of his teens when he was encouraged by older brother
Eamon to attend acting classes in Dublin.

After trying
out for bit parts, the 22-year old actor was billed as Col
Farrell in the TV series Ballykissangel, in the role
of working-class Danny Byrne. The part soon led to others
on British television before his big film break came in 2000 playing
a young Louisiana army recruit in TIgerland. The movie
generally
received mediocre reviews, but garnered the actor almost unanimous
praise.

A string of
notable roles followed, including appearances in American Outlaws;
in Hart's War opposite Bruce Willis; in Minority
Reportwith Tom Cruise; and as the comic book
villain Bullseye in Daredevil.

In 2004, the
long-awaited release of the historical epic, Alexander opened
to lukewarm reviews all around for Farrell, co-star Angelina
Jolie, and director, Oliver Stone.

Colin Farrell's notable film roles have included a dramatic victim in Phone Booth (2002), a hapless
gunman in the dark comedy In Bruges (2008), and in the remake of the sci-fi hit Total Recall (2012).

Farrell appeared
again to mixed reviews in A Home at the End of the World,
with more news made of the sexy full-frontal nude scene of the
actor (later cut in test previews as "too distracting")
than for the film's quirky plot.

Farrell's
varied film projects have also included the
Depression-era drama, Ask the Dust, the role of explorer
John Smith in The New World, as undercover
detective Sonny Crockett in Miami
Vice, and as a hapless hitman in In Bruges, for which he won a Golden Globe award for Best Actor in 2009.

In September
2009, more news headlines were made about Farrell's personal life
when it was reported that he was to be a father for the second
time with current girlfriend, Polish actress Alicja
Bachleda. The couple, who met while filming Odine,
welcomed son Henry Tadeusz Farrell on October 7, 2009.

In 2010, Farrell starred in the drama The Way Back about prisoners who escape a 1940's Siberian gulag, and returned to light comedy with a starring role in Horrible Bosses in 2011 and then in the horror comedy Fright Night playing a charismatic vampire.

Another remake was in the works in 2012 as Colin Farrel starred in Total Recall, a new take on the Arnold Schwarzenegger sci-fi hit about a sleeper agent who is compelled to travel to a colony on Mars.